Controller cover

ABSTRACT

A controller cover includes a main body portion attached to an outer surface of a controller, and the main body portion includes a contacted portion where a contacted inner surface is in contact with the outer surface of the controller and a non-contacted portion where a non-contacted inner surface is not in contact with the outer surface of the controller. Elastic deforming protrusions are formed on the non-contacted inner surface. When the controller attached with the cover interferes with other thing, and the non-contacted portion of the cover is subjected to shock, the elastic deforming protrusion of the non-contacted portion is deformed to ease the shock, so that the controller and the interfering other thing are protected.

CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATION

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-204109 isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a controller cover. More specifically, thepresent invention relates to a controller cover attached to a controllerwhich is held by a hand of a user or a game player and operated in areal space for inputting operation information to a game apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, in view of sanitation and prevention of damage due todrop, or the like, electronic equipment with cover, such as a gamecontroller, etc. has been known.

Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2002-507814 [G06F 3/033, A63F 13/06]) recites that in order tosignificantly avoid problems in relation to holdability and sanitation,a handle of a joypad for computer operation is attached with a coverlike a stocking.

Patent Document 2 (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-OpenPublication No. 63-17098 4[A05K 5/03, H04N 5/00, 5/64]) recites that aprotective cover is constructed by a holder member of a hollow-body madeof material with shake-resistance and low density which is formed to beconformed to the appearance of a remote controller, and the holdermember is made thick enough to absorb shock applied to the remotecontroller, and whereby, it is possible to protect the controller fromthe shock imparted from the outside.

In addition, Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-OpenNo. 2006-196776 [H05K 5/02]) recites that a plurality of shock absorbingrubbers are arranged on the bottom of a case main body, and electronicequipment is mounted on the upper surfaces of these shock absorbingrubbers, and thereby, if shock force is applied to the case due to drop,etc., the shock absorbing rubbers are deformed to protect the electronicequipment.

The above-described Patent Document 1 is for avoiding problems inrelation to holdability of the joypad and sanitation, and not forprotecting the joy pad and other things from the shock occurring betweenthem.

Furthermore, the above-described Patent Document 2 is for impartingsufficient thickness to the wall surface of the holder member made of amaterial with low density, light weight, and shake-resistance forabsorbing shock imparted to the remote control device. Thus, there is aproblem of high material costs for forming the holder member withsufficient thickness, resulting in a high price.

In addition, the Patent Document 3 can protect the electronic equipmentby the shock absorbing rubbers, but has a problem of not protectingother things from shock when shock occurs between the case main body andother things because the case main body itself does not have structureof absorbing the shock.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide anovel controller cover.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a controller coverbeing cheap and capable of protecting the controller and other objectfrom a shock between them.

The present invention employs following features in order to solve theabove-described problems. It should be noted that reference numeralsinside the parentheses and supplement show one example of acorresponding relationship with the embodiments described later for easyunderstanding of the present invention, and does not limit the presentinvention.

A first invention is a controller cover utilized for a controller whicha user holds and moves to thereby output operation information inaccordance with the motion, comprises: a main body portion made of anelastic material and attached to an outer surface of the controller; anda shock absorbing portion formed around the main body portion.

In the first invention, a controller cover (100: a reference numeral ofthe game apparatus when a corresponding component in the embodiments isdesignated. This hold true for the later.) includes a main body portion(102) to be attached to an outer surface of the controller (14). A shockabsorbing portion (106, 108) is formed around the main body portion, onan inner surface or an outer surface thereof.

According to the first invention, when the controller is held with thehand of the user and swung in a real space, the controller might contactpersons and objects around it in some situations. However, even if thecontroller and other thing (persons and objects) are contacted, theshock absorbing portion eases the shock in the contact, so that it ispossible to protect both of them from the shock.

A second invention is a controller cover according to the firstinvention, and the controller has a longitudinal configuration, and alength is set such that one end portion of the longitudinalconfiguration is exposed from the hand when it is held by the user, andthe shock absorbing portion is formed so as to cover at least the oneend portion of the controller.

In the second invention, in a case that one end portion of thecontroller is exposed from the hand holding the controller, even if theone end portion interferes with other thing (persons and objects) tobring about a shock, the shock absorbing portion covers the one endportion, capable of easing the shock.

A third invention is a controller cover according to the first inventionor the second invention, and the main body portion includes a contactedportion having a contacted inner surface being in contact with the outersurface of the controller and a non-contacted portion having anon-contacted inner surface not being in contact with the outer surface,and the shock absorbing portion includes the non-contacted portion.

In the third invention, the main body portion (102) includes a contactedportion (104) having a contacted inner surface (104 a) being in contactwith the outer surface of the controller and a non-contacted portion(106) having a non-contacted inner surface (106 a) not being in contactwith the outer surface, and the non-contacted portion functions as ashock absorbing portion. That is, when a shock is imparted to thecontroller cover, a space is formed between the non-contacted innersurface and the outer surface of the controller, and therefore, thecontroller cover is deformed within the range of the space by the shock.By the elastic deformation, it is possible to ease the shock.Accordingly, only provision of the space between the main body portionand the controller is valuable for shock absorption. Furthermore, in thethird invention, shock absorption is performed at the non-contactedinner surface without making the main body portion thick, and therefore,this has an advantage of offering a cheap controller cover saving inmaterial costs in comparison with a thick shock absorbing portion.

A fourth invention is a controller cover according to the thirdinvention, and the shock absorbing portion includes elastic deformingprotrusions formed on the non-contacted inner surface, and the elasticdeforming protrusions are brought into engagement with the outer surfaceof the controller.

In the fourth invention, the non-contacted inner surface (106) isprovided with elastic deforming protrusions (108), and the elasticdeforming protrusions are brought into engagement with the outer surfaceof the controller. If shock is imparted to the controller cover, theelastic deforming protrusion between the non-contacted inner surface andthe outer surface of the controller is elastically deformed by theshock. By the elastic deformation of the protrusion, it is possible toabsorb and ease the shock. Furthermore, in the fourth invention also,the thickness of the main body portion needs not to be increased, andtherefore, this has an advantage of offering a cheap controller coversimilar to the third invention.

A fifth invention is a controller cover according to the fourthinvention, and wherein the elastic deforming protrusions includecontinuous protrusions.

In the fifth invention, the continuity of the elastic deformingprotrusions imparts strength to the protrusions and allows easydeformation by the shock and easy restoration after cancellation of theshock. In a case that the elastic deforming protrusions are madecontinuous, the protrusion has certain degree of strength, andtherefore, when the controller cover is put out from the metal mold inthe injection molding, there is an advantage of preventing theinconvenience of tearing out the protrusions, or the like fromoccurring.

As a form of the continuity of the continuous protrusions, there areplate-like or rib-like continuous protrusions extending in apredetermined direction, continuous protrusions in which such theplate-like (rib-like) continuous protrusions are connected in the formof grid, in the form of honeycomb or in the form of ring in a top view.In addition, continuous protrusions are considered in which theplate-like (rib-like) protrusions connected in the form of grid, in theform of honeycomb or in the form of ring are successively orintermittently arranged.

A sixth invention is a controller cover according to the fourthinvention, and the elastic deforming protrusions include independentprotrusions each deforming independently.

In the sixth invention, needle-like or rod-like independent protrusions,for example, are formed.

A seventh invention is a controller cover according to the firstinvention or the second invention, and the shock absorbing portionincludes a double wall surface portion formed on the main body portionand a shock absorbing material enclosed in the double wall surfaceportion.

In the seventh invention, the main body portion is provided with adouble wall surface portion (124), and in the double wall surfaceportion (124), a shock absorbing material (126) such as gas like air,liquid, gel, or the like is enclosed. In a case that shock is impartedto the controller cover and surrounding other things (persons andobjects), the shock can be absorbed and eased by the shock absorbingmaterial (126) to thereby protect both of them from the shock.

An eighth invention is a controller cover depending on the firstinvention or the second invention, and the shock absorbing portionincludes elastic deforming protrusions formed on the outer surface ofthe main body portion.

In the eighth invention, in a case that elastic deforming protrusions(108′) are formed on the outer surface of the main body portion, andshock is imparted to the controller cover and surrounding other things(persons and objects), the shock can be absorbed and eased by theelastic deforming protrusions (108′) to thereby protect both of themfrom the shock.

A ninth invention is a controller cover according to any one of thefirst to eighth inventions, and the main body portion covers an entireportion of the controller, and further comprises a non-slip portionformed on the outer surface of at least a part of the main body portion.

In the ninth invention, by forming the non-slip portion (112) on theouter surface of the main body portion of the cover, even when a childwith less holding force operates the controller, it is possible toprevent the controller from dropping and slipping from the hand.

According to the present invention, if shock is imparted to thecontroller cover, the shock is eased at the shock absorbing portion ofthe cover, and therefore, it is possible to protect the game controllerand other things from the shock occurring between them.

The above described objects and other objects, features, aspects andadvantages of the present invention will become more apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the present invention when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an appearance view showing one example of a game systemincluding a game apparatus using a controller to which a cover in thepresent invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative view showing an appearance of the controllerutilized in this embodiment, FIG. 2(A) is a perspective view of thecontroller viewed from an upper rear side, and FIG. 2(B) is aperspective view of the controller viewed from a lower front side.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative view showing one form when the controller isutilized.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative view showing another form when the controlleris utilized.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative view showing a controller cover of oneembodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5(A) is a perspective viewshowing a rear surface, an top surface and a right side surface of thecover, and FIG. 5(B) is a perspective view showing a front surface, abottom surface and a left side surface of the cover.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative view showing the controller cover of thisembodiment, FIG. 6(A) is a rear view showing the rear surface of thecover, FIG. 6(B) is a top view showing the top surface of the cover,FIG. 6(C) is a front view showing the front surface of the cover, FIG.6(D) is a left side view showing the left side surface of the cover, andFIG. 6(E) is a bottom view showing the bottom surface of the cover.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative view showing the controller cover of thisembodiment, FIG. 7(A) is a top view showing a top surface of the cover,FIG. 7(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG.7(A), FIG. 7(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C inFIG. 7(A), FIG. 7(D) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-Din FIG. 7(A), and FIG. 7(E) a cross-sectional view taken along the lineE-E in FIG. 7(A).

FIG. 8 is an illustrative view showing a state that the controller coverof this embodiment is attached to the controller, FIG. 8(A) is aperspective view showing the rear surface, the top surface and the rightside surface of the cover in a state that the cover is attached to thecontroller, and FIG. 8(B) is a perspective view showing the frontsurface, the bottom surface and the left side surface of the cover inthat state.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative view showing a state that the controller coverin this embodiment is attached to the controller, FIG. 9(A) is a topview showing the top surface of the cover in a state that the cover isattached to the controller, FIG. 9(B) is a cross-sectional view takenalong the line B-B in FIG. 9(A), FIG. 9(C) is a cross-sectional viewtaken along the line C-C in FIG. 9(A), FIG. 9(D) is a cross-sectionalview taken along the line D-D in FIG. 9(A), and FIG. 9(E) is across-sectional view taken along the line E-E in FIG. 9(A).

FIG. 10 is an illustrative view showing a cushioning effect (shockabsorbing effect) of the cover in this embodiment when interference(contact) between the controller and other things arises.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative view showing a controller cover in anotherembodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11(A) is a perspective viewshowing a back surface, a top surface and a right side surface of thecover, and FIG. 11(B) is a perspective view showing a front surface, abottom surface and a left side surface of the cover.

FIG. 12 is an illustrative view showing a state that the controllercover in this embodiment is attached to the controller, FIG. 12(A) is aperspective view showing the back surface, the top surface and the rightside surface of the controller attached with the controller, and FIG.12(B) is a perspective view showing the front surface, the bottomsurface and the left side surface in that state.

FIG. 13 is an illustrative view showing an important part of acontroller cover in a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an illustrative view showing an important part of acontroller cover in a further another embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A controller cover of the present invention can be applied, as oneexample, to a controller 14 capable of transmitting operationinformation (controller data) to a game apparatus 12 in a game system 10shown in FIG. 1. The operation information or the operation signal fromthe controller 14 is transmitted to the game apparatus 12 by wirelesscommunications such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), for example. Inthe game apparatus 12, game processing like updating a game imageaccording to a game program and in response to such operationinformation or operation data is executed. However, the controller 14may be connected to the game apparatus 12 by a cable.

The game apparatus 12 includes a roughly rectangular parallelepipedhousing 16, and the housing 16 is furnished with a disk slot 18 on afront surface. From the disk slot 18, an optical disk 20 storing theabove-described game program is inserted. The game program is read fromthe optical disk 20, and written to a memory of the game apparatus 12 soas to be used for the game processing in a processor (both are notillustrated).

The game apparatus 12 and a monitor 22 are connected with an AV cable24, and through the AV cable 24, a video signal and a sound signal fromthe game apparatus 12 are input to the monitor 22. Accordingly, a gameimage of a three-dimensional (3D) video game, for example, is displayedon the screen of the monitor 22, and stereo game sound, such as a gamemusic, a sound effect, etc. is output from right and left speakers 26.On the top side of the monitor 22, a marker unit 30 including twoinfrared ray LEDs (markers) 28 a and 28 b is provided. The marker unit30 is connected to the game apparatus 12 through a power source cable31. Accordingly, the marker unit 30 is supplied with power from the gameapparatus 12 to allow the markers 28 a and 28 b to emit lights in frontof the monitor 34.

FIG. 2(A) and FIG. 2(B) show one example of the appearance of thecontroller 14. FIG. 2(A) is a perspective view showing a front surface,a top surface and a right side surface of the controller 14, and FIG.2(B) is a perspective view showing a back surface, a lower surface and aleft side surface of the controller 14.

With reference to FIG. 2(A) and FIG. 2(B), the controller 14 has ahousing 32 formed by plastic molding, for example. The housing 32 isformed into an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape having thelength L, the width W and the height H, and has a size small enough tobe held by one hand of a user as a whole (especially, the width W andthe height H). In relation to the length L, the controller 14 isdesigned in size to the extent that the one end (one end portion) of itis exposed from the hand when the user holds the controller 14 with thehand.

The housing 32 (controller 14) is provided with the input means (aplurality of buttons or switches) 34 (FIG. 1). Specifically, as shown inFIG. 2 (A), on an upper face of the housing 32, there are provided across key 36, a 1 button 38, a 2 button 40, an A button 42, a − button44, a HOME button 46, a + button 48 and a power switch 50. Moreover, asshown in FIG. 2 (B), an inclined surface is formed on a lower surface ofthe housing 32, and a B-trigger switch 52 is formed on the inclinedsurface.

The cross key 36 is a four directional push switch, including fourdirections of front (or upper), back (or lower), right and leftoperation parts. By operating any one of the operation parts, it ispossible to instruct a moving direction of a character or object (playercharacter or player object) that is operable by the player or instructthe moving direction of a cursor.

The 1 button 38 and the 2 button 40 are respectively push buttonswitches, and are used for adjusting a viewpoint position and aviewpoint direction on displaying the 3D game image, i.e. a position andan image angle of a virtual camera. Alternatively, the 1 button 38 andthe 2 button 40 can be used for the same operation as that of theA-button 42 and the B-trigger switch 52 or an auxiliary operationthereof.

The A-button switch 42 is the push button switch, and is used forcausing the player character or the player object to take an actionother than that instructed by a directional instruction, specificallyarbitrary actions such as hitting (punching), throwing, grasping(acquiring), riding, and jumping, etc. For example, in an action game,it is possible to give an instruction to jump, punch, move a weapon, andso forth. Also, in a roll playing game (RPG) and a simulation RPG, it ispossible to instruct to acquire an item, select and determine the weaponand command, and so forth. Furthermore, the A button 42 is utilized forinstructing decision of an icon or a button image pointed by a pointer(instruction image) on the game screen. When the icon or the buttonimage is decided, an instruction or a command (a command of the game)set in advance in correspondence with these can be input.

The − button 44, the HOME button 46, the + button 48, and the powersupply switch 50 are also push button switches. The − button 44 is usedfor selecting a game mode. The HOME button 46 is used for displaying agame menu (menu screen). The + button 48 is used for starting(re-starting) or pausing the game. The power supply switch 50 is usedfor turning on/off a power supply of the game apparatus 12 by remotecontrol.

The B-trigger switch 52 is also the push button switch, and is mainlyused for inputting a trigger such as shooting and designating a positionselected by the controller 14. In a case that the B-trigger switch 52 iscontinued to be pushed, it is possible to make movements and parametersof the player object constant. In a fixed case, the B-trigger switch 52functions like the normal B-button, and is used for canceling the actiondetermined by the A-button 42.

As shown in FIG. 2 (A), an external expansion connector 54 is providedon a back end surface of the housing 32, and an indicators 56 isprovided on the top surface and on the side of the back end surface ofthe housing 32. The external expansion connector 54 is utilized forconnecting another expansion controller (not shown) other than thecontroller 14. The indicator 56 is made up of four LEDs, for example,and shows identification information (controller number) of thecontroller 14 depending on the lighting LED by lighting any one of thefour LEDs. Furthermore, the indicator 56 shows the remaining amount of abattery of the controller 14 depending on the number of LEDs to beemitted.

In addition, the controller 14 has a solid imager (not shown), and asshown in FIG. 2(B), light incident opening 58 of the imager is providedon the front end surface of the housing 32. Furthermore, the controller14 has a speaker (not illustrated), and the speaker is provided insidethe housing 32 at the position corresponding to a sound release hole 60between the 1 button 38 and the HOME button 46 on the tope surface ofthe housing 32 as shown in FIG. 2 (A).

Note that the shape of the controller 14 and the shape, number andsetting position of each input means 34 shown in FIG. 2 (A) and FIG. 2(B) are merely examples and may be modified as necessary.

In the controller 14 shown in FIG. 2, although not illustrated, a meansfor detecting an orientation and a moved state of the controller 14 isincluded. As such a means, an acceleration sensor (not illustrated) istypically considerable.

The acceleration sensor detects, as shown in FIG. 2, accelerations inrespective directions of a vertical (y-axis) direction, a horizontal(x-axis) direction, a forward and backward (z-axis) direction of thecontroller 14. An acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor isapplied to a processor (not illustrated) similarly included in thecontroller 14 to thereby allow the processor to fetch acceleration data.The acceleration data is transmitted from the processor to a wirelessmodule as controller data (operation signal) together with an inputsignal (input data) by the input means 34, and these controller data(operation signals) are transmitted to the game apparatus 12 from thewireless module. The game apparatus 12 performs application processing(game processing) according to the fetched controller data and theapplication program (game program).

Accordingly, in the game apparatus of this embodiment, as shown in FIG.3, a user or a game player holds the controller 14 with a hand 62, andmoves the controller 14 to the left, right, top and bottom by swingingthe hand 62, and so forth. At this time, it is preferable that the useror player operates the controller 14 with a strap 64 wound on the wristso as not to drop the controller 14 from the hand 62. Then, from theacceleration sensor, the acceleration data indicating the direction andthe size according to the motion at this time of the controller 14 isoutput.

Furthermore, the controller 14 can instruct (point) the point P (PX, PY)on the screen of the monitor 22 as shown in FIG. 4 by shooting with thesolid imager (not illustrated) for infrared rays including infrared raysLED markers 28 a and 28 b described before. More specifically, thehigh-intensity part out of the video signals from the imager is themarkers 28 a and 28 b, which allows the marker coordinates of the twopoints to be calculated. The processor of the controller 14 transmits byradio also the coordinate data to the game apparatus 12 as controllerdata (manipulate signal). When the game apparatus 12 (CPU 40) detectsthe marker coordinate data from the controller data, it can calculate aninstructed position (instructed coordinate) by the controller 14 on thescreen 22 and distances from the controller 22 to the respective markers28 a and 28 b on the basis of the marker coordinate data.

As described above, the user or player holds the controller 14 andoperates the controller 14 like swinging, so that the controller 14might interrupt or contact persons or objects around him or her. Thecontroller cover of the present invention intends to protect both of thecontroller 14 and the other things (including persons and objects) froma shock arising between the controller 14 and the other things.

The controller cover (hereinafter simply referred to as “cover”) 100 ofone embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 5 is attached tothe controller 14 shown in FIG. 2. Here, FIG. 5(A) is a perspective viewshowing a rear surface, a top surface and a right side surface of thecover 100, and FIG. 5(B) is a perspective view showing a front surface,a bottom surface and a left side surface of the cover 100. FIG. 6(A) isa rear view showing the rear surface of the cover 100, FIG. 6(B) is atop view showing the top surface of the cover 100, FIG. 6(C) is a frontview showing the front surface of the cover 100, FIG. 6(D) is a leftside view showing the left side surface of the cover 100, and FIG. 6(E)is a bottom view showing the bottom surface of the cover 100. FIG. 7(A)is a top view showing the top surface of the cover 100. FIG. 7(B) is across-sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG. 7(A), FIG. 7(C) isa cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C in FIG. 7(A), FIG. 7(D)is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D in FIG. 7(A), andFIG. 7(E) a cross-sectional view taken along the line E-E in FIG. 7(A).

FIG. 8(A) is a perspective view showing the rear surface, the topsurface and the right side surface of the cover 100 in a state that thecover 100 is attached to the controller 14, and FIG. 8(B) is aperspective view showing the front surface, the bottom surface and theleft side surface of the cover 100 in that state. FIG. 9(A) is a topview showing the top surface of the cover 100 in a state that the cover100 is attached to the controller 14, FIG. 9(B) is a cross-sectionalview taken along the line B-B in FIG. 9(A), FIG. 9(C) is across-sectional view taken along the line C-C in FIG. 9(A), FIG. 9(D) isa cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D in FIG. 9(A), and FIG.9(E) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line E-E in FIG. 9(A).

In what follows, the controller cover 100 of this embodiment isdescribed referring to FIG. 5-FIG. 9.

The cover 100 is made of an elastic material like silicon rubber, forexample, by an injection molding. It should be noted that an elasticmaterial such as other rubber (butyl rubber, natural rubber, etc.)except for silicon rubber, elastomers, relatively flexible syntheticresin like polyethylene, etc. may be employed. Furthermore, in relationto the molding method, the injection molding is substituted by acompression molding, a potting molding, etc.

Furthermore, the cover 100 is preferably formed to be transparent ortranslucent because the entire shape of the covered object, that is, thecontroller 14 and the input means 34 like operating switches of thecontroller 14 have to be visualized for the user.

In addition, since the cover 100 is attached to the outer surface of thecontroller 14, the inner surface thereof is the same in size like thelength L, the width W and the height H (FIG. 2) as the controller 14 orlarger than it. The width, length, and height of the outer surface ofthe cover 100 are set to be sizes suitable for holding because the useror player holds with the hand the controller 14 attached with the cover100 on the outer surface. That is, the cover 100 is formed so as to bedecreased in thickness (the distance between the outer surface and theinner surface) which is selected between about 1.2 mm-1.5 mm, forexample.

The cover 100 has a main body portion 102, and the main body portion 102is formed with a contacted portion 104 and a non-contacted portion 106on the inner surface. The contacted portion 104 is formed almost overthe entire length of the main body portion 102, and as well understoodfrom FIG. 9(C), FIG. 9(D) and FIG. 9(E), the portion where an innersurface (contacted inner surface 104 a) is in contact with thecontroller 14, i.e., the housing 32 is designated as the contactedportion 104. The frictional force due to the contact between thecontacted inner surface 104 a and the outer surface of the controller 14(housing 32) prevents the cover 100 from dropping from the controller14. The non-contacted portion 106 is a portion where an inner surfacethereof (non-contacted inner surface 106 a) is not in contact with theouter surface of the controller 14. At the non-contacted portion 106,the non-contacted inner surface 106 a has a clearance (space) of certaindegree of size with the outer surface of the controller 14. Accordingly,when shock is imparted to the non-contacted portion 106, thenon-contacted portion 106 deforms within the clearance, so that shockeased to a certain extent is transmitted to the controller 14. In thatsense, the non-contacted portion 106 functions as a shock absorbingportion only because the clearance is formed between the non-contactedinner surface 106 a and the outer surface of the controller 14 (housing32).

While the non-contacted portion 106 functions as a shock absorbingportion as described above, the end portion (one end portion) of thecontroller 14 is exposed or protruded from the hand when the user or theplayer holds the controller 14 with one hand. The portion covered withthe hand is protected by the hand. However, the end portion of thecontroller 14 is exposed, so that when the user swings the controller14, the end portion (one end portion) is subjected to shock because itcontacts or interferes with other things (persons and objects) around(in the vicinity of) it. The cover 100 eases at least the shock, andtherefore the shock absorbing portion (non-contacted portion in thisembodiment) has to be formed so as to cover at least the one end of thecontroller 14.

It should be noted that for further assuring the function as a shockabsorbing portion of the non-contacted portion 106 as specificallyunderstood from FIG. 5(A), FIG. 7(B), FIG. 7(D) and FIG. 7(E) in thisembodiment, continuous plate-like (rib-like) elastic deformingprotrusions 108 are formed on the non-contacted inner surface 106 a ofthe non-contacted portion 106. The plate-like elastic deformingprotrusions 108 are connected in the form of grid in a top view as oneexample as understood specifically from FIG. 7(D) and FIG. 7(E), and theheight h corresponds to the space (clearance) between the non-contactedinner surface 106 a of the main body portion 102 and the outer surfaceof the controller 14 (housing 32) as shown in FIG. 7(B). Accordingly, aswell understood from FIG. 9(B), the tips of the elastic deformingprotrusions 108 are in contact with the outer surface of the controller14, so that the elastic deforming protrusions 108 support the controller14 (housing 32) at those positions. That is, in a case that a clearspace is left between the non-contacted inner surface 106 a and theouter surface of the controller 14 (although the non-contacted portionfunctions as a shock absorbing portion in this case also), there is nosupporter for supporting the non-contacted inner surface 106 a. Thus, ina case that the position is held as shown in FIG. 3, the non-contactedportion 106 very easily deforms, and stability of holding might bereduced. However, as shown in FIG. 9(B), the tips of the elasticdeforming protrusions 108 are in contact with the outer surface of thecontroller 14 (housing 32), and therefore, it is possible to maintainthe shape of the non-contacted portion 106 to a certain degree. Thus,the user can securely and surely hold the controller 14 even through thecover 100.

Furthermore, the continuity of the rib-like elastic deformingprotrusions 108 imparts strength to the protrusions to thereby permiteasy deformation by shock and easy restoration after cancellation of theshock. In a case that the elastic deforming protrusions are madecontinuous, the protrusion has certain degree of intensity, andtherefore, when the controller cover is put out from the metal mold inthe injection molding, there is an advantage of preventing theinconvenience of tearing out the protrusions, or the like fromoccurring.

Other than continuous protrusions being continuous in the form of gridin this embodiment in a top view, the rib protrusions may be continuousin the form of honeycomb, in the form of circle (torus). Furthermore,elastically continuous protrusions are considered in which theplate-like (rib-like) protrusions connected in the form of grid, in theform of honeycomb or in the form of ring are successively orintermittently arranged.

However, the elastic deforming protrusions may not be formed as thecontinuous ribs in this embodiment, but may be needle-like or rod-likeindependent elastic deforming protrusions each erratically deformingindependently.

Then, in this embodiment, when the controller 14 is moved to the leftdirection as shown in FIG. 10(A), on assumption that the controller 14contact or hit the other thing 66 existing on the left side, thenon-contacted portion 106 of the cover 100 is subjected to shock fromthe left direction. At this time, the elastic deforming protrusion 108of the non-contacted portion 106 of the main body portion 102 deforms bythe shock as shown in FIG. 10(B). Thus, the shock is absorbed and easedby the elastic deformation of the elastic deforming protrusion 108 aswell as absorbed and eased by elasticity of the rubber as a material ofthe cover 100 at the main body portion 102 of the cover 100. The shockeased by the cover 100 is transmitted to the controller 14, so that thecontroller 14 is not damaged. That is, the controller 14 is protected.

On the other hand, since the main body portion 102 of the cover 100 isan elastic material, even if both of them are hit with each other, solarge shock is not applied to the other thing 66, and the shock ismoreover absorbed or eased by the elastic deformation of the elasticdeforming protrusion 108. The shock eased by the cover 100 istransmitted to the other thing 66, so that the other thing 66 is notdamaged. That is, the other thing 66 is also protected.

Thus, according to the cover 100 in this embodiment, it is possible toprotect the controller 14 and the other thing 66 from the shock arisingbetween them.

In this embodiment, as specifically understood from FIG. 6 and FIG. 7,relatively short protrusions 110 between the elastic deformingprotrusions 108 of the non-contacted inner surface 106 a are formed, butthe short protrusions 110 are not especially provided.

Furthermore, the main body portion 102 of the cover 100 of thisembodiment has a contacted portion 104 as described above. At thecontacted portion 104, the contacted inner surface 104 a is in contactwith the outer surface of the controller 14 (housing 32) as shown inFIG. 9(D) and FIG. 9(E). Since the cover 100 is formed by an elasticmaterial like rubber, the frictional force between the contacted innersurface 104 a and the outer surface of the controller 14 is large. Thus,the frictional force between them prevents the controller 14 from beingdetached from the cover 100 and the cover 100 from dropping from thecontroller 14. The holding force by the user holding the controller 14also contributes to the prevention of the dropping.

In addition, on the outer surface of the main body portion 102 of thecover 100 in this embodiment, especially, the area corresponding to theleft and right side surfaces and the bottom surface of the controller14, a multiplicity of ridges 112 each extending in the direction of thelength L of the controller 14 and being relatively short are formed. Theridges 112 are formed for a non-slip member. In view of a non-slipeffect, that is, a non-drop effect of the controller 14 from the hand 62(FIG. 3), it is more advantageous that the ridges 112 extend in adirection orthogonal to the direction of the length L than in thedirection of the length L of the controller 14. However, children mayuse the controller 14, and the children have small hands. According tothe test by the inventors, etc., it is confirmed that that the smallridges 112 extending along the longitudinal direction are much easier tohold for the children with the small hands.

The cover 100 in this embodiment is formed with windows 114 and 116 atan interval on the top surface. The window 114 allows the cross switch36 and the A button 42 of the controller 14 to be exposed from the cover100, and the window 116 allows the operation buttons 38-48 to be exposedfrom the cover 100. Both of them make it easy for the user to operatethese operation buttons and switches. However, the window 116 also hasan object of not preventing a sound from being released from the speakerthrough the sound releasing hole 60.

A window 118, which is formed on the bottom surface of the cover 100, isfor exposing the B button 52 for easy operation.

A window 120 formed on the end surface (rear surface) of the cover 100is provided for making it easy for light to be incident to the imagerincluded in the controller 14.

These window 114-120 are not necessarily required, and withoutmalfunction and a problem of operability, these windows 114-120 areeliminated and the entire corresponding parts of the controller 14 maybe covered with the cover 100.

A window 122 on the front surface of the cover 100 is required when adevice for expansion is connected to the expanded connector 54 (FIG. 2)of the controller 14.

As especially well understood from FIG. 9, in this embodiment nowdescribed, the cover 100 is designed in size and shape so as to enclosethe controller 14 thought its length. However, in view of the state inwhich the controller 14 is held with the hand as described in FIG. 3, atleast the one tip portion (one end portion) of the controller 14 needonly to be protected with the cover. Thus, in a next embodiment, a cover200 to be attached to only the one end portion of the controller 14 isconsidered.

A controller cover (hereinafter simply referred to as “cover”) 200 inanother embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 11 is attachedto the controller 14 shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 11(A) is a perspective viewshowing a back surface, a top surface and a right side surface of thecover 200, and FIG. 11(B) is a perspective view showing a front surface,a bottom surface and a left side surface of the cover 100. FIG. 12(A) isa perspective view showing a back surface, a top surface and a rightside surface of the controller 14 in a state that the cover 200 isattached to the controller 14, and FIG. 12(B) is a perspective viewshowing a front surface, a bottom surface and a left side surface inthat state. In what follows, with reference to FIG. 11-FIG. 12, thecover 200 of this embodiment is described.

The cover 200 is also made of silicon rubber by injection moldingsimilar to the cover 100 in the previous example. The cover 200, whichis for covering a part of the controller 14, may be formed by an opaquemember rather than the transparent (translucent) member.

In addition, the inner surface of the cover 200 is the same in size likethe width W and the height H as or larger than the controller 14. Thelength may adequately be set, but is set to be from the one tip portion(one end portion) of the controller 14 to the position nearer to theother end portion than the A button 42 in this embodiment. Furthermore,the cover 200 is formed so as to decrease in thickness.

The cover 200 has a main body portion 202, and the main body portion 202is formed with a contacted portion 204 and a non-contacted portion 206on its inner surface. The contacted portion 204 is formed over only thepart of the main body portion 202, and as understood from FIG. 12, theinner surface (contacted inner surface 204 a) at that portion is incontact with the outer surface of the controller 14, i.e., the housing32. The frictional force due to the contact between the contacted innersurface 204 a and the outer surface of the controller 14 (housing 32)prevents cover 200 from dropping from the controller 14. Thenon-contacted portion 206 is a portion where the inner surface thereof(non-contacted inner surface 206 a) is not in contact with the outersurface of the controller 14. The non-contacted inner surface 206 a hasa clearance (space) of certain degree of size with the outer surface ofthe controller 14. Accordingly, similar to the precedent embodiment, thenon-contacted portion 206 functions as a shock absorbing portion onlybecause the clearance is formed between the non-contacted inner surface206 a and the outer surface of the controller 14 (housing 32).

For further assuring the function as a shock absorbing portion of thenon-contacted portion 206, similar to the previous embodiment, as wellunderstood especially from FIG. 11(B), elastic deforming protrusions 208are provided on the non-contacted inner surface 206 a of thenon-contacted portion 206. Each of the plate-like elastic deformingprotrusions 208 is formed as a needle-like independent protrusion as oneexample. In the embodiment described before, if the cover 100 with longlength has such independent protrusions, such a problem easily arises astear of the independent protrusions when the cover 100 is molded andpulled out from a metal mold. However, in this embodiment, the cover200, which is short, is formed with the elastic deforming protrusions208 as the independent protrusions, the problem in molding never arises.However, the elastic deforming protrusions 208 may of course be formedas the continuous protrusions.

Since the operation and the advantage of the elastic deformingprotrusion 208 are the same as those in the elastic deforming protrusion108 of the cover 100 in the previous embodiment, a duplicateddescription will be omitted.

FIG. 13 is an illustrative view showing an important part of theinvention in a further embodiment of the present invention, and thisembodiment can be applied to the cover 100 and the cover 200, andtherefore, if this is applied to the cover 200, corresponding referencenumerals are merely written in brackets in FIG. 13.

In the embodiment in FIG. 13, a double wall surface portion 124 isformed at the portion corresponding to the non-contacted portion 106 ofthe cover 100. The double wall surface portion 124 is enclosed by anouter wall surface 124 a and an inner wall surface 124 b, in which ashock absorbing material 126 including gas like air (or other gases),liquid like noncombustible oil and gel-like material are enclosed. Thebuffer power of the shock absorbing material 126 eases shock.

However, in a case that the enclosed shock absorbing material 126 isair, it is considered that by opening fine holes not shown on the wallsurface 124 a and/or 124 b, the hardness (magnitude of the buffer power)of the shock absorbing portion can be adjusted.

In the embodiment in FIG. 14, the non-contacted portion of the cover 100is eliminated to make it the contacted portion 104 (204) entirely, andelastic deforming protrusions 108′ are formed on the outer surface ofthe contacted inner surface 104 a. It is confirmed that even if theelastic deforming protrusions may be formed on the inner surface of thenon-contacted inner surface as in the previous two embodiments, or theelastic deforming protrusions 108′ may be formed on the outer surface ofthe contacted inner surface104 a like this embodiment, a shock absorbingeffect by the elastic deforming protrusion 108′ can be expected.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated indetail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustrationand example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the spiritand scope of the present invention being limited only by the terms ofthe appended claims.

1. A controller cover utilized for a controller which a user holds andmoves to thereby output operation information in accordance with themotion, comprising: a main body portion made of an elastic material, andattached to an outer surface of said controller; and a shock absorbingportion formed around said main body portion.
 2. A controller coveraccording to claim 1, wherein said controller has a longitudinalconfiguration, and the length is set such that one end portion of saidlongitudinal configuration is exposed from a hand when it is held by theuser, and said shock absorbing portion is formed so as to cover at leastsaid one end portion of said controller.
 3. A controller cover accordingto claim 1, wherein said main body portion includes a contacted portionhaving a contacted inner surface being in contact with an outer surfaceof said controller and a non-contacted portion having a non-contactedinner surface not being in contact with said outer surface, and saidshock absorbing portion is formed at said non-contacted portion.
 4. Acontroller cover according to claim 3, wherein said shock absorbingportion includes elastic deforming protrusions formed on saidnon-contacted inner surface, and said elastic deforming protrusions arebrought into engagement with said outer surface of said controller.
 5. Acontroller cover according to claim 4, wherein said elastic deformingprotrusions include continuous protrusions.
 6. A controller coveraccording to claim 4, wherein said elastic deforming protrusions includeindependent protrusions each deforming independently.
 7. A controllercover according to claim 1, wherein said shock absorbing portionincludes a double wall surface portion formed on said main body portionand a shock absorbing material enclosed in said double wall surfaceportion.
 8. A controller cover according to claim 1, wherein said shockabsorbing portion includes elastic deforming protrusions formed on theouter surface of said main body portion.
 9. A controller cover accordingto claim 1, wherein said main body portion covers an entire portion ofsaid controller, further comprising a non-slip portion formed on saidouter surface of at least a part of said main body portion.